本文主要討論村上春樹《世界末日與冷酷異境》裡的烏托邦概念。通過探討小說的時間結構，說明故事裡的「烏托邦」概念流露了對現代都市社會的種種不安，並與八十年代日本的社會經濟情況息息相關。這本小說敘述兩個存在於不同時空的世界，一個是科技先進的現代都會，另一個是古老小城，兩個世界相異又相連，形成一種辯證式的對立。作者以此批判現實社會，指出現代都市的各種弊端。發生在繁華大都會的故事反映都市人的命運如何受各種社會體制操縱、現代社會的過度物質主義等，具烏托邦色彩的平靜小鎮則批評盲目、不重視個人的集團意識及服從主義。這部科幻小說間接亦提出了歷史的重要性。以物質為中心的商業社會往往只著眼現在而忽略歷史的重要性，小說主角的記憶錯亂，代表與過去失去連繫帶來的混亂狀態。文章最後談到小說的結局，提出作者在小說最後部分突出記憶及自我的主題，以突破烏托邦概念的二元性的觀點。
This study examines the utopian vision in Murakami Haruki's Hard- Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. It attempts to analyze the novel's utopian elements in detail and examine them in relation to the socioeconomic situation during the time it was written. The paper begins with an analysis of the novel's temporal structure, which aims to make clear that the ＂utopia＂ in the novel reveals a strong sense of anxiety over the contemporary urban condition. The observation will be further developed into a discussion of the dialectical tension between the two worlds in the novel: a technologically advanced city and an archaic town. I argue that the disparity between the two worlds can be analyzed from the standpoint of social criticism. The seemingly contrasting worlds work together to mirror and critique modern societies, pointing out a range of social maladies that prevail in the modern urban world. On the one hand, the hard-boiled city unfolds the social mechanisms that control urban people's lives; it also questions the meaning and value of a predominantly consumerist lifestyle. On the other hand, the idyllic town critiques societal conformism. This work of science fiction also obliquely criticizes historical forgetfulness, a consequence of a material- centered culture which focuses upon the present and deemphasizes the past. The consequence of severing historical links, on both a personal and cultural basis, is presented and dramatized in the novel as a chaotic memory. The last part of the article focuses on the novel's ending. It submits that the author attempts to break away from the usual binarism in utopian narratives by foregrounding the theme of memory and self at the story's end.
